Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a variable composition switching device enabling various switching operations to be carried out, such as, for example, those of a circuit breaker, contactor, reverse current relay or reversing switch, by the connection of modular elements and, in particular:
of at least one switch module controllable by switch gear on which can be exercised an external control force and
of at least one control and/or protection module including suitable operational means for controlling the said switch gear.
More precisely, the switch module can include a switch device comprising, inside a case, at least one fixed contact element, at leat one mobile contact element connected to the said switch gear and able to take up at least two positions, i.e. a first position in which the mobile contact element is applied against the fixed contact element (closed state) and a second position in which the mobile contact element is separate from the fixed contact element (open state) and flexible means exerting on the moving armature a force tending to lead the mobile contact element into one or other of the said two positions.
Moreover, the control and/or protection modules used in the previously described switching device can be of at least two different types, namely:
direct control modules including means of control producing by themselves alone a sequence with sufficiently high energy and speed to ensure correct switching of the switching device, such control means being suitable for acting directly on the switch gear of the switch modules;
indirect control modules each comprising one or more control and/or detection elements producing a control sequence with insufficiently high energy and/or speed to ensure correct switching of the switching device and which act on the switch gear of the switch modules by means of a potential energy accumulation releasing device.
For information, the direct control modules may include an automatic control device capable of including in its most simple version only an all or nothing electro-magnet whose mobile armature is coupled to a mechanical transmission device suitable for cooperating with the switch gear of at least one switch module. It is clear, however, that this automatic control module could also be of the bistable type, indeed even tristable, with control by pulses (trip switch mode), with sequence storage, etc. Furthermore, it may include AC/DC converter feed circuits for example, or analgous circuits (operation for one or more thresholds) etc.
These direct control modules can also include several electromagnets acting on the same mechanical transmission device.
The control and/or detection elements used in the indirect control modules can, for example, include excess current detectors, devices for detecting a prolonged intensity rise, detectors of a fault established in the line or in a device fed by the line, and/or manual control devices.
As previously mentionned, these control and/or detection elements act on the release switch of a potential energy accumulation releasing device whose electro-magnet is designed to exert a control action on the switch gear of at least one switch module.
It has been confirmed that in numerous applications, especially in the case of realization of a reverse current relay, the switching device must include at least one switch module, one direct control module and one indirect control module.
In addition, these control modules must be able to carry out simultaneous control of several switch modules.